site.btaMedia Review: September 11

POLITICS

All media outlets covered GERB-UDF’s submission of documents for registration for participation in the October 27 early parliamentary elections. GERB Deputy Chair Tomislav Donchev said he sees the upcoming elections as "the last chance to preserve democracy in Bulgaria". According to Donchev, the idea of changing the electoral system is rather a provocation for a public debate and a search for mechanism that will bring stability. In the MP’s words, the problem is not in the electoral system, but in the parties, which should stop focusing on the conflicts inside the parties themselves and with other parties. GERB’s leader Boyko Borissov said that the party’s "natural partners" are Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and There Is Such a People (TISP).

Mediapool.bg highlighted the addition of BSP to Borissov’s list, after previously it consisted only of CC-DB and MRF. "Last year there were rumours for a quadruple coalition between GERB, MRF, BSP and TISP, but unofficially it is said that the former prosecutor general Ivan Geshev ruined those plans. He refused to resign and immediately afterwards [former socialist leader] Korneliya Ninova surprisingly pulled the BSP out of the expected coalition," the article reads.

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In an interview with Bulgarian National Radio, attorney Valya Gigova commented on the issue with the two warring factions of the MRF. She underlined that the Central Election Commission has no way to choose which coalition to register and such an action cannot be demanded by an independent State body. "The same issue stands as a question now before the Supreme Court, which has to rule on exactly the same issue, only concerning corporations. With two chairpersons  jointly and separately representing the body corporate, the court cannot choose which of the wills should be the body corporate's statement," she stressed. Gigova described the case as an internal party issue.

On Nova Television's morning show, political scientist Daniel Stefanov and election expert Vanya Nusheva also commented on the divisions in the MRF and BSP. „The institutions say that the cases in those cases are not their business. It is not for them to solve the parties’ internal problems. It is absurd to have a party with two co-chairs who can act separately,” Stefanov said. “These cases will develop when the collective bodies convene,” Nusheva noted. “Hypothetically, it is possible that there will be no MRF in the elections. If they continue to submit and withdraw applications for registration, the CEC may decide not to admit them because the case may be repeated in different Regional Election Commissions," she added. Nusheva argued that new political projects could move parliament towards absurd legislative proposals and make coalitions more difficult to form.

On bTV’s morning show, CC-DB MP and former regional development minister Andrei Tsekov said that "the collapse in the MRF is the beginning of the collapse of the captured state". He added that CC-DB will seek formula for governance. "Most probably, in this fragmented political situation, we should first unite around ideas and then around non-partisan individuals who can take the responsibility of governance with the support of parliamentary parties. The programme should be clearly oriented towards two priorities - pro-European positioning of Bulgaria and anti-corruption reform," Tsekov said.

JUDICIARY

In an interview on bTV's morning show, Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) member Atanaska Disheva said that the most likely candidate for a new prosecutor general is Borislav Sarafov [the current acting Prosecutor General], but did not rule out the possibility of a candidacy by caretaker Justice Minister Maria Pavlova. She clarified that these two names are speculative because no one has proposed them yet. "The first decision of the SJC should be to resume the procedure for the election of a prosecutor general. I have an objection against its resumption", Dusheva said. Her main objection is that the SJC’s mandate has expired. This creates a problem with the independence of the body, she noted. “Two judges have left, there is no prosecutor general. The mandate of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court will expire soon. By the date of the election, the Supreme Judicial Council will be reduced to five people,” the SJC member stressed.

WASTE COLLECTION FEE REFORM

Capital.bg writes that on the eve of the elections GERB once again demanded a postponement of the new waste collection fee, after the party sought a delay of the reform until December 31, 2025. It was due to come into force on January 1. Another suspension of the reform will only exacerbate the waste problems, and citizens will have to wait yet again for fairness in the calculation of what is due, the media outlet adds. "As early as January 1, 2019, Bulgarian citizens should have started paying garbage fees according to how much waste they throw away, not according to the value of their property. But since then, the reform, which has already been implemented in most European cities, has been continuously delayed. And the delays are always linked to GERB and upcoming elections," the article reads.

Trud takes the opposite stance, linking the reform to a "drastic increase in the garbage fee." The daily quotes financiers as saying that if the GERB-UDF's request is not granted, "immediately after the New Year people could find themselves in a situation where local garbage fees are raised 3 to 10 times." According to them, the reform confronts municipalities with a financial risk and citizens with an unaffordable financial burden.

Segabg.com features an article on the outburst of employer organizations against the GERB request. "It has been businesses that have been the biggest advocates of reform over the years, as they have been unhappy with the huge amounts they pay based on a tax assessment on company buildings, regardless of how much waste they generate," Sega writes. Employers say Bulgaria is at risk of sanctions from the European Commission if it continues to delay implementation of the reform.

ECONOMY

The Bulgarian National Television (BNT) quoted a survey by Turkish outlet Yenigun Gezetesi according to which Bulgaria is second in the world in bread consumption. A Turkish citizen eats on average nearly 200 kg of bread a year, while in Bulgaria the consumption is 131.1 kg per person per year. "Bread is very deeply interwoven in Bulgarian life and culture. Ritual breads and bread rolls are present in the life of Bulgarians from birth to death," Stefka Aleksandrova, owner of a bakery chain in Varna, told BNT. Regarding the rise in bread prices, Aleksandrova said that it was linked to the higher purchase price of wheat, flour and other products, as well as wage increases.

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Telegraph quotes the latest European Commission's Join Research Centre report according to which Bulgaria has the highest proportion of people who were permanently unable to keep their home warm - 28%. Bulgaria, Lithuania and Greece face higher levels of persistent energy poverty, the European study says.

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24 Chasa quotes National Statistical Institute data according to which industrial production in Bulgaria reported a year-on-year decline of 2.5% in July. This is the 19th consecutive month of decline. The fall would have been even greater if the energy sector had not grown by 12.4%, the daily notes. The biggest drop was in auto production, down more than 40%. This is due to the drastic reduction in orders to Bulgarian auto parts makers due to the automotive problems seen in Germany, France, Italy, etc. Another sector that marks a large decline is the production of leather goods and footwear - 22%.

SEVEN RILA LAKES

In an interview on bTV's morning show, Rila National Park expert Stefan Kirilov said that drones are being used to keep an eye out for trespassers bathing in the Seven Rila Lakes. Entry to the lakes has been banned for two years, as the strong interest from tourists in recent years has put the natural landmark under threat from pollution and siltation. The original purpose of drones was different: "They have been used for more than three years under a fire prevention programme," Kirillov explained. "When entering the lakes, deviating from the tourist routes or a large number of tourists is detected, the park guards are directed there and visitors are warned not to break the rules," the expert explained.